ESPN VIDEOGAMES SWEEPS GAMESPOT
GAME COMMERCIAL AWARDS
Consumers choose ESPN Videogames
spots in sweep of traditional sports categories for Gamespot.com’s Game
Commercial Awards
SAN RAFAEL, CA – (February 17, 2004)
– ESPN Videogames today announced that they have swept all the traditional
sports categories in the first annual GameSpot Game Commercial Awards. More than
50,000 GameSpot users participated in the online event, viewing and voting on
the 121 nominated spots in 16 categories. This contest marked the first time
that consumers were asked to choose their favorite commercials in a variety of
categories including Traditional Sports Overall, Traditional Sports: Football
and Traditional Sports: Basketball. ESPN Videogames was chosen number one in
each of these categories over all other competitors.
Produced by Wieden + Kennedy New
York, the entire line of ESPN Videogames spots features Saturday Night Live
alumnus Tracey Morgan as ‘Reggie Reg,’ the cross-eyed, obsessed sports fan,
convinced that after playing each ESPN Videogames title, he can beat ESPN
Videogames world famous athletes at their own game. ESPN NHL Hockey won for best
Traditional Sports Commercial: Overall and ESPN NFL Football and ESPN NBA
Basketball each won in their respective categories.
"This is a tremendous accolade to
receive from the public," stated Steve Raab senior vice president of marketing
at ESPN Videogames. "The ESPN Videogames television spots represent the
commitment to excellence that we’ve put into marketing these unparalleled sports
titles."
"It’s great to see that ESPN
Videogames commercials match the quality of their games in the eyes of these
discerning fans," said Laurel Skillman vice president of marketing at GameSpot.
"With over 82 percent of our site visitors on broadband, they are uniquely
qualified to view and judge this type of content."
"This advertising is reflective of
how we interact with sports fans in any form of promotion," said Aaron Taylor,
VP of Marketing at ESPN. "As we evolve the brand and attempt to serve fans in
new product categories, we’ll continue to use advertising and promotion to not
only sell the product, but to further the relationship we have with sports fans.
This award is further validation of that philosophy."
GameSpot. is the largest game
information site reaching over 10 million unique gamers each month. A full list
of award winners – and the winning ads – can be viewed at
http://dlx.gamespot.com/promos .
ESPN Videogames are produced by
Visual Concepts – Sega’s sports studio. For more information, visit us online at
http://www.espnvideogames.com .
About Visual Concepts Entertainment
Visual Concepts Entertainment is the maker of the critically acclaimed 2K series
of sports games. The company is responsible for the full development and
marketing for all ESPN Videogames titles and is committed to delivering the
best, fully integrated sports gaming experience for all consumers. Visual
Concepts Entertainment is wholly ow0ned by Japan-based SEGA Corporation.
About ESPN ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide
Leader in Sports, is a multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company
featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia assets in sports marketing with
over 40 business entities. The company is comprised of seven domestic television
networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Now, ESPN
Today, ESPN HD (a high-definition simulcast service of ESPN), ESPN Regional
Television, ESPN International (25 international networks and syndication), ESPN
Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, SportsTicker, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN Zones
(sports-themed restaurants), and other growing new businesses including ESPN
Broadband, ESPN Wireless, ESPN Video-on-Demand and ESPN Interactive. Based in
Bristol, Ct., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc, which is an indirect
subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent
interest in ESPN. ESPN is a registered trademark of ESPN, Inc. ESPN branded
elements (C) ESPN, Inc
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are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of intellectual property of
NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams and may not be used, in
whole or in part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc. (C)
2003 NBA Properties, Inc. .
NBA, NFL, NHL are trademarks of
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